[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles and the occasional radio broadcast delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Also visit our general discussion thread.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Southern Okinawa: Naha-Shuri-Yonabaru, 1945 – Tenth Army Operations, 10 May-30 June 1945
Okinawa, Ryukyus Islands, 1945: Japanese Thirty Second Army Defensive Dispositions, 1 April 1945
Luzon, P.I., 1941: Final Operations on Luzon, 3 February-20 July 1945
Southeast Asia, 1941: Final Allied Offensives in the Southwest Pacific Area 19 February-1 July 1945
China, 1941: Operation Ichigo, 1945 and Final Operations in the War
Southern Asia, 1941: Third Burma Campaign-Allied Victory, April-May 1945

[PeterPrinciple]

Japanese sub sunk in atlantic, didn’t know that................

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-07-18/news/1995199019_1_i-52-submarine-german-technology

[Stosh]

Page 1 minor headline: “Cigarette supply to increase soon” — Big Tobacco begins to step in to fill the villainy vacuum left by the demise of the Nazis - and the corpse isn’t even cold yet (well, except for Adolf’s, which remains only in the form of ashes, which I guess is a good segue to ciggie’s). /s

[PeterPrinciple]

Lindbergh Goes Abroad to tour Europe

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Wartime Journal published in 1970:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/27/specials/lindbergh-lost.html

And when he traveled in Germany shortly after the Nazi surrender in May 1945, he wrote in his journal. “What the German has done to the Jew in Europe, we are doing to the Jap in the Pacific.”

Now he says somethings in this that will invoke a strong response. But I don’t think I can argue with the following:

“Your ask what my conclusions are, rereading my journals and looking back on World War II from the vantage point of quarter century in time? We won the war in a military sense; but in a broader sense it seems to me we lost it, for our Western civilization is less respected and secure than it was before.

“In order to defeat Germany and Japan we supported the still greater menaces of Russia and China - which now confront us in a nuclear weapon era. The British empire has broken down with great suffering, bloodshed and confusion. France has had to give up her major colonies and turn to a mild dictatorship herself.”

“Much of our Western culture was destroyed. We lost the genetic heredity formed through eons of many million lives. Meanwhile, the Soviets have dropped their Iron Curtain to screen off Eastern Europe, and an antagonistic Chinese Government threatens us in Asia.

“More than a generation after the war’s end, our occupying armies still must occupy, and the world has not been made safe for democracy and freedom. On the contrary, our own system democratic government is being challenged by that greatest of dangers to any government - internal coordinating and unrest.

“It is alarmingly possible that World War II marks the beginning of our Western civilization’s breakdown...”

[PeterPrinciple]

Cigarette supply to increase soon.

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Remember at this time there was a 2-3 reserve inventory of tobacco. So in would be easy to increase production at the end of the war.

A further thought for today. At one time we held a 3 year reserve of grain for stabilization. Many here don’ like govt programs and I don’t either but think of this.

Today, if we don’t use the last bushel of corn the day before the new crop comes in, we screwed up. There is such a potential instability here that we shouldn’t sleep at night............................

[RayChuang88]

The persistent bombing of Nagoya in 1945 because of its close ties to the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company is--ironically--the very reason why Nagoya is one of the most monoculturally Japanese cities in 2015. There is not many tourist sites of interest in Nagoya in 2015, and as such the city pretty much chose to cater to the people living there, not attract foreign tourists like you see in Tokyo and Kyoto.

[PGR88]

Interesting how Eisenhower didn’t mind being photographed with “secretary” Kay Summersby on a night out at the theater.

[PeterPrinciple]

200,000 new autos for passengers expected by Jan 1. ----------------------------------- In general terms, no 1940’s automobiles were produced in 1943 or 1944. With that said, the auto industry claims there were 139 cars built in 1943 and 610 built in 1944. It could very well be that they used up the existing stock of vehicles and made more, but they were probably assembled from spare parts left over after the assembly lines shut down. It gets a little complicated getting an accurate count, for a few reasons: 1. Some of the 1941 and 1942 models that were left over before the freeze were taken by our military for staff cars, and were titled as 1943, 1944, and 1945 models. 2. War Department document TM-9-2800 from 1943 authorized building certain light and heavy cars for staff use, the light ones were Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth, while the heavy ones were Packard and Buick. Again, these were either leftover vehicles repainted for military use, or built with leftover parts. 3. Fred Crismon’s book U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles (Crestline Series) says that Packard was building blackout versions of the Clipper “as late as 1943″ for the U.S. Army. Production started up again in 1945, although these automobiles were built for the 1946 model year. Most makes that were built were warmed over 1942 models for 1946, 1947 and 1948. For example, General Motors first postwar redesign was their 1949 line of automobiles http://1940s.org/history/on-the-homefront/auto-production/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Wikpedia lists no production figures for 1945 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Automobile_Production_Figures ---------------------------------------------------------- Ford got postwar production underway on July 3, 1945, the first automaker to do so http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1941-1948-ford-super-deluxe4.htm --------------------------------------------------------- interesting 1945 car list. http://carsplusplus.com/year/index.php?year=1945 -------------------------------------------------------- here is a list of 1945 cars for sale now. http://classiccars.com/listings/find/1945 ----------------------------------------------------- Here is another list of 1945 cars produced. Note lots of European cars. Japan was not on their agenda so they began car production a little earlier? One of the first American cars was willys cj2a? http://www.automobile-catalog.com/

[PeterPrinciple]

Interesting perspective on post war car production here. Production equipment has been stored out side and deteriorated. problems with unions. Big Three tying up steel production?

http://www.studebaker-info.org/text3/pack-hist-1945.html

[PeterPrinciple]

Here is a reference to the production of 200,000 autos by year end. It was a fed govt authorization.

http://web.bryant.edu/~ehu/h364proj/fall_97/sandoval/index.htm

With the collapse of Germany in 1945, the federal government authorized the production of 200,000 passenger cars. At the same time production limits were lifted, and the city of Detroit started to shift cars as quickly as possible in order to keep up with demand. Automobile manufacturers also ran into many problems. Technical problems specifically the retooling process led to delays in production and also labor problems were present. Despite all these problems assembly lines were moving at full speed. In 1947 the first post-war design was the Studebaker, this car made its dayview in many showrooms around the country.

and here is the 47 Studebaker
https://www.hagerty.com/price-guide/1947-Studebaker-Champion